Alauda

Alauda is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin alauda, 'lark'. Pliny the Elder thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. The genus Alauda was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The type species was subsequently designated as the Eurasian skylark. The genus Alauda has four extant and at least two extinct species. Formerly, many other species have also been considered to belong to the genus. The genus contains four species: Previously, some authorities also classified the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Alauda: